Safe Cities Global Forum Highlights

Find out more about the highlights and session topics at the global forum

Forum sessions will focus on topics such as:

How city and public transportation design can make urban and rural spaces safe for all women and girls

The role of grassroots women and girls and men and boys in preventing sexual violence

Participation and advocacy

Changing attitudes and behaviours to promote women and girls' safety during the day and after dark

Youth activism

The following speakers will open the start of the forum - Canada in focus - on Tuesday, October 16 at 9am

Don Iveson, Mayor of Edmonton

Bev Esslinger, Edmonton Councillor

Marlene Poitras, Regional Chief

Audrey Poitras, President Metis Nation of Alberta

Danielle Larivee, Minister, Alberta Status of Women

Highlights include a panel discussion on key trends, developments and achievements on women and girls' safety in spaces, drawing from a Canadian context and a keynote by Jay Pitter, author, placemaker and public engagement specialist, on urban design and safety through a gender lens. It also includes plenary sessions that discuss how gender inequalities in cities intersects with other forms of inequalities, such as race, disability, sexual orientation and age to shape sexual harassment.

Leadership and Catalytic Partnerships: Delivering integrated safe city and public spaces programmes with and for all women and girls.

Keynote Speaker - Jay Pitter

Jay Pitter, MES, is an award-nominated author and placemaker whose practice mitigates growing divides in urban centres. She spearheads institutional city-building projects, rooted in neighbourhood knowledge, focused on: democratizing urbanism, transit equity, safe streets, healing fraught sites and narrative-based public engagement. She also shapes urgent city-building conversations through media platforms such as the Agenda and Canadian Architect—as a keynote speaker for organizations like University of Detroit Mercy’s School of Architecture and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—and as a knowledge producer in urban planning faculties across North America.

Recently, Jay consulted on Edmonton’s new heritage plan; hosted a professional development luncheon for women city-builders in Detroit; initiated a safe and connected streets engagement following the mass shooting in Toronto and led (RE)IMAGINING CHEAPSIDE, a Confederate monument placemaking process in Lexington.